


Amongst The Wreckage

by burymeinziam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2013-01-10
Packaged: 2017-11-25 00:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/632951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burymeinziam/pseuds/burymeinziam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn looks up at Liam and his eyes are still big and brown and even though they’re a little less bright Liam can still tell that this is Zayn telling him that he loves him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amongst The Wreckage

The van is cramped Liam’s back is pressed tight against the seats as Zayn shifts in his seat pressing his head further into crook of Liam’s neck. He would have made him move if Zayn didn’t look so peaceful; it’s almost as if he’d slipped into a coma, like Jesus himself had touched his eyelids closed. Liam runs his fingers through the streaks of blonde, a stark contrast against the inky black color of Zayn’s hair, lets the pads of his fingers slip down the sweat slick slope of Zayn’s neck, down his arms to trace the outline of the tattoos forever imprinted into his skin.

Zayn shuffles further into the comfort of Liam’s body and Liam only pulls him closer even though it’s hot as hell and the close proximity is doing nothing to cool him down. Liam just can’t seem to stay away. He’d tried. He’d pushed Zayn away in every possible way he could think of, but no matter how many times he’d shouted that they meant nothing, no matter how many times Zayn looked at him with tears in his eyes crying about how much he hated Liam, really hated him, it didn’t matter. They loved each other. As hard as it was for him to admit it, he loved Zayn through it all. He loved him for his priceless faces, for a beauty that no pen could capture in words, a beauty that no brush could paint.

“We’re almost there,” Louis calls back from the driver’s seat.”

Niall groans from his seat next to Liam and places a hand over his stomach. “Thank God,” he says. “I’m starving.”

“We only left thirty minutes ago,” Zayn mumbles into Liam’s shirt and he Zayn’s smile through the thin cotton material. Looking down, Zayn is reminiscent of a small child with the way he’s gripping onto Liam’s shirt his eyes closed in an attempt to fall back asleep. He’s calm, calmer than he usually is, and Liam wonders why he couldn’t be like this all the time but then he remembers that Zayn just seems to have a knack for causing trouble and making noise and, although he can sometimes be a lot to take in at times Liam really wouldn’t have him any other way.

Liam is just glad he is able to keep Zayn still sometimes. He likes moments like these when Zayn is curled up against him, his body like hot liquid against his skin making him feel languid and loose. It’s the moments when they’re quiet and still and together that Liam loves most: when he wakes up on the couch with Zayn lying on top of him, his hair a mess and a small puddle of drool soaking through the thin cotton of Liam’s T-shirt. It’s those moments that Liam truly lives for, the ones where Zayn smiles at him and it’s like nothing else in the world matters because they are together and in love.

Zayn hums happily into Liam’s shoulder as his fingers comb through the blond in his hair. “… Feels nice,” he mumbles and Liam chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss to Zayn’s forehead.

“You awake now, sleepyhead?” He asks.

Zayn lifts his head and presses a hand to his mouth to cover up a yawn. His eyes are squeezed tight as the yawn pushes past his lips and when they open again they are big and brown and looking straight into Liam’s. Liam grins and, without another word, leans down into Zayn’s mouth to claim and taste and drown in the boy next to him. Their fingers are intertwined in Liam’s lap and the angle they’re at is a little awkward and Niall will probably grow annoyed with the way they’re making out right next to him but Liam doesn’t really care. His heart feels like it could swell and burst with the way Zayn’s lips slot perfectly against his own. He can feel a hand against his chest, pressing tight against the spot right over his heart, and he knows that its Zayn telling him that he knows; that he feels it too.

But then Liam hears something, a deafening noise that’s popping his eardrums and stealing the breath straight from his lungs and he doesn’t even have the time to react.

It’s the sound of metal twisting around metal, of teeth made of glass violently gnawing on tinfoil. Liam’s heart lurches itself into his throat and he has a sudden urge to vomit as he’s jolted forward out of his seat. They’re all being flung around the car like rag dolls being manhandled by an overexcited toddler and everyone is scared shitless and screaming and through all of it the only thing Liam can really focus on is Zayn as he struggles to keep him close; to keep him from leaving.

Zayn nearly flies out of his seat and Liam really wants to yell at him (angry shouts that would probably cause Zayn to curl in on himself if they weren’t in so much danger at the moment) because he isn’t wearing a seatbelt, but he doesn’t. He just pulls Zayn in closer and tries to shield him from shattering glass of the windshield.

The moment feels endless even though it couldn’t have lasted more than forty-five seconds. It feels as if they’ve been crashing forever and Liam can’t seem to stop himself from screaming as the strangled cries of his friends flood his ears. It scares him when he doesn’t hear anything from Zayn, doesn’t feel the comforting tug on his T-shirt that reminds Liam that he’s there. He’s scared shitless but he can’t twist around to see his face and make sure that he’s alright.

But then it all ends and the van settles and, just like that, it’s over.

It takes a few moments for everyone to realize exactly what has happened. Liam can see Louis leaning over to check on Harry who is staring off into space, probably still in shock and unable to comprehend the situation. Their conversation is all hushed whispers and gentle touches as Louis works the younger boy’s curls away from his face in an attempt to make sure he was alright.

Liam turns to Niall. He looks shaken and a little disoriented, but aside from a small cut on his eyebrow he seems to be okay. He’s about to ask when Niall looks down at Zayn who is still curled up in Liam’s lap and, as his eyes grow wide in horror, points down at Zayn and asks if he’s okay. 

Liam looks down at Zayn and it’s like he can’t breathe all over again. His lungs stop working and the last bit of breath he had in him catches in his throat and his chest grows tight and he just knows he is dying. There’s blood trailing down from Zayn’s neck and onto his jeans and all of the sudden Liam is scrambling, pressing his hands tight against the ugly gash in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He doesn’t know when it happened or why he hadn’t felt the blood seeping through the denim of his jeans but the panic is setting in all over again and Liam can only hear the sound of his own screaming as he yells for someone to find a door or something so they can get out.

When he looks down Zayn looks so much paler than usual. But his eyes are blinking open which makes Liam’s heart beat a little easier, not by much, but easier all the same. “Just hold on for me, okay?” Liam says, moving some of Zayn’s hair away from his face. His voice sounds thick through his tears but he tries to smile to ease Zayn’s worry; maybe he does it a little for himself too. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispers as Zayn groans in pain and slowly curls himself further into Liam’s side. Liam presses his hands tighter against Zayn’s neck and nearly crumbles because there is so much blood; his hands are covered and stained in Zayn’s blood and he doesn’t know what to do.

The van had been turned onto its side so it took a moment for everyone to orient themselves enough to be able to find a way out, but Louis was able to work his door open and climb outside. “Niall, Harry, get out here and then we can try and figure out how to help Zayn and Liam out next!”

The three of them are still shaking when they’re out of the van and even though nobody says anything, they all have a feeling that none of this is going to end well. Niall had seen Zayn up close, had seen the blood staining Liam’s jeans, so when Louis and Harry looked at him with eyes that asked just how bad it really was Niall simply shook his head because he didn’t really have the words.

“Let’s… Let’s try and get the door to the back seat open,” Harry suggested in a shaky voice. “I don’t think… I don’t think Liam would be able to carry Zayn out through the front.”

It’s tough but, between the three of them, they are able to work the door open and help Liam and Zayn out of the van. Zayn’s blood is everywhere; it’s on Liam’s jeans, his T-shirt, his arms. He doesn’t say anything as he holds Zayn close and carries him over puddles of oil and gasoline. The other boys can’t help but to notice how small Zayn looks shriveled up against Liam’s chest; a child of lacerations and wounds.

And then Liam is on his knees because he can’t seem to walk anymore and he’s holding Zayn close as he cries into his skin, still trying to apply pressure to the wound in his neck. Zayn is half conscious as Liam holds him whispering words nobody can really make out.

But he’s still holding on to Liam’s T-shirt, right over his heart, which makes Liam think he’s alright; Zayn is still there and he knows and they’re alright.

Niall kneels down beside them, placing a hand on Zayn’s shoulder and whispering that he’s going to make it, that Harry and Louis are calling for help and he just has to hold on for a little longer until the ambulance comes. Liam turns to look at the boy next to him and he can see the worry in Niall’s eyes. He looks sad and scared and kind of low on any hope that Zayn is going to make it through.

“Don’t die,” Liam whispers as he buries his face in Zayn’s hair, pressing a kiss to his scalp. He can barely see anything through his tears but he can’t really bring himself to care. He squeezes his eyes shut as he inhales, his body shaking. “Please don’t die.”

Zayn’s grip on his shirt is loosening but Liam only covers Zayn’s hand with his own and forces him to hold on a little tighter.

“No,” Liam chokes out. “No. Just hold on. Help is coming; you just have to hold on, okay? You can’t leave me.”

Zayn mumbles something nobody can really understand, a small dribble of blood slipping through his lips. Liam can hear Niall crying next to him. When he chances a backward glance at Harry and Louis he can see the pair huddled together worry etched into the faces and tears in their eyes as they curse about the ambulance.

“Come on, Zayn,” Liam mumbles into his hair. “Just a little longer and then the medics will be here. They’ll fix you up and then…” he pauses. “I don’t know; we can do whatever you want, I promise. We can get that apartment you’ve been hassling me about and I won’t get on your ass whenever you leave your stuff everywhere. We can take that trip to Spain you’ve been talking about and we can lie around on the beach all day and go sight seeing and… Zayn there’s just so much we can do; you’ve just gotta hold on for me, okay?”

Zayn looks up at Liam and his eyes are still big and brown and even though they’re a little less bright Liam can still tell that this is Zayn telling him that he loves him.

“No,” Liam says shaking his head as his hand tightens around the one Zayn has pressed against his chest. “You can’t do this now. I love you, too, but you can’t do this now.”

Zayn’s breathing grows shallow as his grip on Liam’s T-shirt grows looser and looser as the seconds tic past.

Liam can hear the sound of sirens in the background.

“They’re coming, okay?” He says his voice frantic as he looks down at Zayn. “They’re practically here, just hold on.”

But he’s already gone. His eyes have slipped shut and if it wasn’t for all the blood and the ugly hole in his neck Liam would think he was only sleeping. Niall’s head is tucked between his knees as his body shakes with how much he’s sobbing. Behind them, Harry wraps his arms around Louis as the older boy tucks his face into his shoulder crying about how he should have seen that car coming, should have paid more attention so he wouldn’t have driven them off the road.

Liam feels numb. He doesn’t feel the tears slipping down his cheeks, doesn’t register the ambulance parking a few yards away and the medics rushing towards them. They probably don’t even realize that they’re too late.

All Liam can feel is Zayn’s body pressed tightly against his own, his fingers wrapped around the fabric of Liam’s blood stained T-shirt right over his heart.


End file.
